DESSO: Cradle to Cradle

Stef Kranendijk, DESSO, Cradle to Cradle


Original post:
http://www.emg-csr.com/blog/implementing-cradle-to-cradle/

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

Sustainable business framework for growth

“EMG has shown how it’s possible to underpin the idea of sustainability with real substance. Its team has created a true example of environmental excellence and hence our commitment to it.” Stef Kranendijk, CEO DESSO, a Cradle to Cradle company

What is the circular economy / sustainable business framework?

In short, the circular economy (or closed loop) is a generic term for an industrial economy where materials flow in continuous cycles: either a biological cycle (via composting) or a technical cycle, where materials retain their high quality for the manufacturing of new (upgraded) products over and over again. Essentially eliminating the concept of waste, it’s the opposite of the linear process of ‘take, make, dispose’. As in life, the aim is to generate energy only from renewable sources.

Why does this make business sense?

As finite resources become increasingly scarce, the price of new materials will have more and more effect on the business bottom line. Businesses that are able to innovate their processes to take back what they sell and keep their materials in closed loops are able to turn material scarcity into a significant competitive advantage. To put a figure to it, 2014 research presented at the World Economic Forum estimated that the circular economy could generate USD 1 trillion a year for the global economy by 2025, and create 100,000 new jobs.

What is Cradle to Cradle?

Cradle to Cradle is the circular economy model developed by American architect Bill McDonough and German scientist Michael Braungart (MBDC). The core belief is that product manufacturing can be a positive force for society, the economy, and the planet, and it encompasses standards far beyond ‘just’ the circular economy model with regard to water usage, social fairness, the protection of ecosystems and the maximum phase-out of toxic materials.

Case in point: DESSO

In 2007, Stef Kranendijk was appointed new CEO of Dutch carpet manufacturer DESSO following the management buyout from Armstrong World Industries. Inspired by the philosophy and business potential of Cradle to Cradle he set out on a mission to change the way the business had run for almost 80 years, indeed raising the standards of the entire industry. EMG worked together with DESSO on their successful journey right from the start.

Services included:

• Stakeholder and customer engagement assessment and analysis
• Development and full integration of CSR into the corporate communications strategy
• Corporate reputation management
• Employee engagement, training and corporate events
• Cradle to Cradle communications and product promotion
• CSR reports and Annual reports
• GRI reporting

The work of EMG was rewarded by the following international recognition:

• Leadership Award – Leadership in Ethical and Environmental Responsibility, Communitas Awards
• Best of Category Award – Green Marketing, Summit International Marketing Effectiveness Awards
• Platinum Award – Category Environmental, MarCom Awards

The success of DESSO’s transition has been phenomenal. Today, DESSO is an exemplar organisation for successful C2C implementation, promoted at the World Economic Forum in Davos and a business case at London Business School. Media attention has been spectacular and DESSO is frequently recognized as one of most sustainable and innovative companies in the country. Most importantly, market share increased everywhere and profitability (EBIT) went up from less than 1% in 2006 to 3% in 2007, 4.5% in 2008, almost 6% in 2009, and 9% in 2010 – straight through the crisis. DESSO has now taken things to another new level, following their recent acquisition of the larger Enia Carpet.

Cradle to Cradle Case study, Circular economy case study Desso

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy/ncyClicke

Recycle Smarter than a Third Grader!

We often associate recycling with curbside pickup operated by the local municipality. But can it possibly be a better environmental option for every recycled component picked up? It's true, many items are worth recycling from environmental perspective. And typically, environmental impact and costs correlate with each other most of the time due to the nature of energy.

Daniel Benjamin is a scholar at PERC. You can watch and read about his research below.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdV3zxoe8aA

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

Recycle Smarter than a Third Grader! | Learn Liberty - YouTube
► 3:35	www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdV3zxoe8aA9 Apr 2014 - 4 min - Uploaded by Learn Liberty Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! All right? Maybe — maybe not, says scholar Daniel K. Benjamin ...

http://www.learnliberty.org/videos/recycle-smarter-than-a-third-grader/?utm_source=Video+Viewers&utm_medium=video+annotation&utm_content=Recycle+Smarter+Than+A+Third+Grader!+|+YT+Learn+More&utm_campaign=+General

OR

http://perc.org/articles/recycle-smarter-third-grader-learn-liberty

Daniel K. Benjamin: I’ve got a Kleenex in my hand — which is now a used Kleenex — and I’ve got to decide: should I put it in the trash, or should I recycle it? I’m going to put it in the trash. I’ve also got an aluminum beverage can here — which is now an empty aluminum beverage can — and again I’ve got the same choice: into the trash, or into the recycle bin? I’m gonna recycle it.

My name’s Dan Benjamin and I’ve been studying recycling since the 1980s, both as a college professor and as a senior fellow at PERC, in Bozeman, Montana. So why did I make the choice that I made with that piece of paper? If I had thrown it into the recycle bin, turning that piece of paper into new paper would have used up an enormous amount of resources and would have conferred very little environmental benefits. Hence, because I like to protect the environment and conserve resources, I put it in the trash.

With the can, on the other hand, by recycling it, when that can gets turned into a fresh new aluminum can, 95 percent of the energy used to make aluminum cans will have been saved, and as a result of that, I will have protected the environment and conserved resources. So, for me, the choice was easy: recycle that can.

Now you’ve probably always been told: recycling always conserves resources, that italways protects the environment. Which probably started with your third-grade teacher, is generally wrong.

Now, it is true that with large-scale industrial processes — for example, making frozen pizza or making aluminum cans — the firms recycle all the scraps that happen along the way of the production process. The pizza company takes the scrap dough, puts it back in the next mix, the aluminum company takes the scrap, puts it back into the next batch of aluminum. It conserves resources to do this, and it protects the environment.

It’s even true that for large household items such as refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, dishwashers, there’s enough recoverable material in there so that it conserves resources and protects the environment to recycle those items.

But what applies to refrigerators doesn’t necessarily apply to ordinary household trash — the sort of stuff that I was tossing in these bins here. How can you decide what to recycle? Well, here’s an experiment — I’ve done it myself — you can try it. The night before your trash is due to be picked up, put some items out by the trash can with a sign on them that says “free.” Try it with a bag of aluminum cans, a bag of plastic bottles, a bag of glass, a bag of paper. You might even put out there a lamp that no longer works or a small appliance like a toaster oven that doesn’t work.

Then, the next morning, go out there and see what’s still out there in the alley. During the night, someone has come through the alley, and without any direction from you, they’ve figured out, they know that given current market conditions and where you’re located, what makes sense to recycle and what doesn’t.

Now, however this experiment works out in your community, I’ll ask you to do one thing: whatever you find out, be sure you pass it on to your third-grade teacher.

If you’d like to learn more, please click here. You can read my policy series called Recycling Myths Revisited. Now you’ll have a choice: either read the paper version or the electronic version. The advantage of reading the paper version is that it increases the demand for trees and so more trees will be planted. On the other hand, if you use the electronic version, then you won’t have to make the tough choice: should I put it in the trash, or should I recycle it?

Updates this week

Here are the latest updates on the Circular Economy, April 25, 2014.

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

"circular economy" Weekly update ⋅ April 25, 2014
	NEWS
	EurActiv Circular economy advances in France EurActiv As part of the energy transition, a circular economy will be one of the four areas in which Ségolène Royal will concentrate future legislation. Flag as irrelevant
	Granta Design to Join Circular Economy 100 (CE100) Programme Azom.com A circular economy is one that is restorative by intention; aims to rely on renewable energy; minimises the use of toxic chemicals; and eradicates waste ... Flag as irrelevant
	Non-Status-Quo Economy Huffington Post ... Collaborative Economy, Restorative Economy, Responsible Economy, Steady-state Economy, Circular Economy, Natural Capitalism, Sustainable ... Flag as irrelevant
	The realpolitik behind China's renewables Business Spectator And the more that China's renewables and Circular Economy initiatives bear fruit, the stronger can we expect to see its advocacy of carbon-neutral ... Flag as irrelevant
	WEB
	Granta Design join the Circular Economy 100 grantadesign.com Granta Design today announced that the company is joining the Circular Economy 100 (CE100) programme. This group of leading companies, ... Flag as irrelevant

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

Philips' SENSEO Up coffee maker small in size but big in recycled plastics

Original Post:
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/design-challenge-philips-senseo-coffee-recycled-plastics

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

Philips' SENSEO Up coffee maker small in size but big in recycled plastics

With high recycled plastic content and other sustainability credentials, the new coffee machine is part of a large-scale initiative to incorporate recycled plastics into product design

• 
  

• Philips
• Guardian Professional, Thursday 17 April 2014 10.06 BST

Brewing one cup at a time in single our double households could prevent waste. Photograph: Getty

In 2008, Philips Consumer Lifestyle started working on a series of projects aimed at closing the materials loop. An important focus in these projects was to incorporate the use of recycled plastics in product design. Besides the obvious environmental benefits, recycled plastics involve lower production costs than virgin plastics. Our initial approach was to use recycled plastic in existing products and parts. This had its limitations, however, as recycled plastics have slightly different properties to the virgin plastics for which the products and parts were originally designed.

So in designing SENSEO Up – our first one-cup coffee machine aimed at single or double households – we decided to change this approach and challenge our designers to specify recycled plastics right from the start of the design process.

The SENSEO Up designers had to contend with a couple of challenges. The first was a question of aesthetics. Recycled plastics are only available in dark colours, but not a real deep black. You can also see spots in the plastic and sometimes flow lines where the material was injected into the mould. We overcame this problem by using a different architecture built around an internal frame that is not visible to the end user. This frame is made of 40% reinforced polypropylene, a plastic used in many household appliances.

The second design challenge was to introduce recycled plastics in the baseplate of the SENSEO Up. First, we textured the part to give the recycled plastic a high-quality look and feel. Then we used one matte black colour for the complete range instead of many colour variations. And thirdly, we made the baseplate less visible by focusing attention on the coloured housing above it. This approach allowed us to introduce a 90% recycled Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic from post consumer electronic waste into the baseplate.

SENSEO Up coffee maker Photograph: Philips

Internal frame of the product (not visible in this picture) is made of 40% reinforced polypropylene, a plastic used in many household appliances. The baseplate of the coffee machine is made of 90% ABS plastic coming from post-consumer electronic waste.

Although technical restraints mean we cannot yet use recycled plastics in coloured parts or in parts that come into contact with food, the design of SENSEO Up shows that recycled plastics can be successfully introduced into other applications. By designing the new SENSEO Up from scratch for the use of recycled plastics, we succeeded in launching it with a total of 13% recycled plastics.

The SENSEO Up has other important environmental benefits besides the use of recycled plastics. As it is a one-cup coffee machine, it is smaller than a two-cup model and three times smaller than the previous SENSEO model, SENSEO Twist, which was launched in 2012. Not only does the compact size mean that it will fit in even the smallest kitchens, but it also needs less packaging and will cause fewer emissions during transport. The SENSEO Up also has reduced energy consumption. The new interface allows users to start the machine, warm up, brew coffee and shut down at just one touch of a button. This means that SENSEO Up goes to off mode immediately after the coffee is brewed, resulting in 10% energy saving compared to other SENSEO machines shutting off automatically.

Designing the SENSEO Up for recycled plastics has not only created a great new product, but has also allowed us to take a tangible next step towards a circular economy. By using recycled plastics in our products, we hope to create a market for high-quality recycled plastics that allows recyclers to invest in better technologies, resulting in improved recycling of all our products. The SENSEO Up is part of a bigger initiative on recycled plastics, in which we aim to use 3500 tons of recycled plastics in 2015. We hope that many companies will join us on our journey towards recycled plastics, so that together we can have a lasting impact on the way products are designed and recycled in a circular economy.

Content on this page is produced and controlled by Philips, supporter of the circular economy hub

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

Lego says, "No End-of-Life"

Lego and "No End-of-Life"

Eco-Design and Lego.

Let us start with the first comment:
"kawaiikiora

10 April 2014 1:13pm

Recommend

2

Sounds good for the eco-marketing bandwagon..
however as most of LEGOs manufacturing is now carried out in:
- Nyíregyháza in Hungary
- Monterrey in Mexico
- by 2015 a mega factory at Jiangxi nr. Shanghai in China

I wonder how their life cycle analysis footprint, sustainability and recycling with match up to the production still carried out by the original plant in
Billund, Denmark..

NO WAY will the relatively high Quality Standards, LCA sustainability and ´honesty´ in Denmark be met by plants in China, Mexico or even Hungary…
PS:. in spite of record profits 2013 it was still decided to lay off Danish workers at the Billund Plant,..."

As production continues to transfer from the West to the East, will Eco-Design or 'Design for a Circular Economy' (DfCE) be able to be truly authentic? You decide.

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

Originally posted at:
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/lego-design-sustainability-circular-economy

Lego: toy maker is exploring building blocks for sustainability

Lego's director of environmental sustainability tells of the toy's focus on eco-design and addresses circular economy challenges for the product with no end-of-life.

• Maxine Perella
• Guardian Professional, Thursday 10 April 2014 07.00 BST

Lego figure looks scared in Lego Movie 2014, but director of sustainability contends there is no end-of-life for Lego products. Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros/Sportsphoto Ltd.

There are more than 90 Lego bricks for every person on the planet, according to Lego's senior director of environmental sustainability Tim Brooks. While this makes the toy maker a highly visible user of plastic, the durability and modular nature of its product portfolio has also seen Lego become a poster child for the emerging circular economy.

Lego's signature brick has been built for compatibility as far back as 1958 and has been designed to last just as long - each element can be used again and again, with no end-of-life in sight. "It is so rare that something you bought in 1958 can still be used with something you buy off the shelf today. Lots of other consumer products aren't compatible in that way," observes Brooks. "We have looked in detail at the circular economy, and will continue to do so, but sometimes it feels like loops for loops' sake and in this instance, there may not be a loop."

Where Lego feels it can add most value is during start-of-life: eco-design. It is embedding greener design principles into the manufacturing process, linking them to wider zero waste ambitions. In late 2010, it embarked on a design for disassembly initiative for its Duplo chassis models.

"It evolved from our work with life cycle thinking and the cradle-to-cradle concept," he recalls, adding that its rationale - reduced environmental impact, design simplicity, faster manufacture and more streamlined material flow, made perfect business sense.

Most Lego elements are mono material products, made of ABS plastic. But the Duplo chassis featured metal axles, so Lego worked with its designers to remove these axles and replace them with plastic plugs capable of securely attaching wheels. Using one material instead of two sped up the production process and led to simpler assembly.

"We are now plugging the wheels onto a wheel base rather than putting a metal axle in – this cuts down the number of individual [build] processes you have to take," says Brooks. He adds that the new design is cheaper to produce and environmental impact has improved between 10-20% depending on the chassis type being assembled.

The project also led to a less tangible benefit – that of educating staff about the benefits of environmental consideration. "We have used the knowledge to develop an assessment methodology so our designers can begin to understand the impact of the decisions they make when developing a Lego set," says Brooks. "Each time a new element is designed it now gets an environmental score."

Lego's ultimate aim is to build eco-design so effectively into the products that designers don't even realise they are making conscious environmental choices during the creative process.

"One of the challenges for our designers is that they have lots of other constraints. Do children want to play with the toys? Is it fun? Does it come in the right colours? Have we got the right number of pieces at the right price point in the right-sized box? We try to keep it as simple as possible … it's about giving them the best available materials and have them do the best they can with them," maintains Brooks.

As new products are developed, the toy maker will be looking to apply eco-design principles more widely across the business. This could have implications for another focus area – the search for more sustainable materials. The raw materials Lego uses for its bricks represent 30% of its greenhouse gas emissions and it is looking to implement greener alternatives by 2030.

Brooks says due to the complexity of how Lego elements are constructed, this will involve working with cutting edge material suppliers with a view to developing partly and fully bio-based materials.

"We want to be able to make informed decisions when we evaluate new materials. Unfortunately there is not one single material that can provide all the properties we need and is also more sustainable, so we must look at how we can minimise the environmental impact of new materials without compromising our key requirements on safety, quality and durability," he explains.

Because the toy industry is so highly regulated, safety and quality issues are paramount. The prospect of Lego using recycled material in its products is therefore not a valid option due to contamination issues. This dampens any potential for remanufacture, but the rise of Lego rental and reuse sites such as Pley and Rebrickable has prompted the toy maker to consider other options such as takeback schemes.

"We have trialed the return of Lego pieces … however most consumers are proud of their Lego collection and do not want to give it back. The durability of the product means it rarely gets disposed of," says Brooks before adding: "We don't like to think there is an end-of-life for the product."

Maxine Perella is an environmental journalist specialising in the zero waste and circular economy agenda

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy

Rare Earth Metals: Tech Implications for Manufacturers and Users

Rare Earth Metals: Tech Implications for Manufacturers and Users

Rare earth metals are crucial portions of cutting edge technology. This is particularly the case for electrically driven applications. In other words almost anything that uses a circuit board, uses rare earth metals for high functioning components. From a design perspective, rare earths drive the electronic componentry in solar, wind, hybrid and other motor driven applications. Whether it is the magnets, the batteries or smart technologies in modern life, rare earths present complications from design to geopolitics. Some of these implications are explored in the article below.

This entry is taken from:
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/rare-earth-metals-upgrade-recycle-ethical-china

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:
http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy/

Rare earth metals: tech manufacturers must think again, and so must users

As the raw materials become scarcer, and China tightens its grip on trade, we need to break our IT upgrade habit

• Askar Sheibani
• Guardian Professional, Wednesday 26 March 2014 14.29 GMT

A worker at a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province, China. Photograph: Reuters

Rare earth metals are the crucial ingredient in many of our tech products. From smartphones, tablets and laptops, to the niche technology used by the military and medical profession, all depend on them to function, for features as broad as a phone's coloured screen to the magnets used to power hybrid cars. As new technology continues to flood the market, the demand for these metals will grow, but they're already in short supply.

If we're going to ensure that there are enough rare earth metals to keep pace with the current rate of technological innovation, and if we're going to stop these dangerous metals from filling landfill sites, we need to end today's rip-and-replace attitude towards IT equipment, as well as an end to the overproduction of devices by manufacturers.

Growing scarcity and China's stranglehold on the market

With the sheer number of new gadgets and business solutions coming onto the market every year, it's no surprise that rare earth metals are becoming scarce. However, the likelihood of a shortage is increased by the lack of mining that's taking place outside China. China has the lion's share of these precious metals but has been reluctant to export them to other countries in an effort – it says – to conserve its own resources. In recent years, it has cut its exports by more than 70%, severely impacting manufacturing in countries such as Japan and the US, while enabling manufacturing in China itself. In addition to these trade restrictions, China is using its economic clout to undercut the prices offered by mines in other regions, effectively forcing them out of business.

The byproducts of innovation

By actively creating today's upgrade mentality, where customers are encouraged to replace perfectly good IT solutions or devices with new technology, manufacturers are ensuring that too many rare earth metals end up in the tip. This situation is made worse by the fact that manufacturers are often quick to withdraw support for their older products lines. Apple, for example, withdraws support for products which have been discontinued for more than seven years; after this, customers receive no service and spare parts are no longer available. With no reassurance that their infrastructure can be serviced or repaired, companies are forced to discard older equipment, regardless of its condition.

Recycling rare earth materials is particularly challenging as, once embedded in devices, they're difficult to take out. Instead of discarding phones or IT equipment after a couple of years, enterprises should aim to get the most out of technology they have invested in through repairing or refurbishing.

Another byproduct of innovation is that countless products never get used at all. Inflexible production processes, such as with mass production lines, where it is difficult to alter the design of a product or allow variation in the process sequences, means that the tech industry can be guilty of producing more equipment than the market actually wants or that doesn't fit exactly what the market needs. This renders stacks of brand new phones, tablets and set top boxes obsolete, left to gather dust in warehouses.

Toxic pollution

Our current use of rare earth metals has huge implications in terms of toxic pollution. They are often mined using extremely energy-intensive processes, spewing carbon emissions into the atmosphere and toxins into the ground. Indeed, the metals involved, which include mercury, barium, lead, chromium and cadmium, are extremely damaging to the environment.Recent survey findings from United Nations University (UNU) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the impact e-waste has on child health, raised concerns around chemical burns, cancer and stunted growth. Eradicating these substances from discarded products is difficult and costly, which is why much of the e-waste exported to the developing world under the pretence of being reused or refurbished ends up being dumped. The WHO has reported that 23% of deaths in the developing world are attributable to environmental factors, one of which is pollution, and that environmental risk factors contribute to more than 80% of regularly reported diseases.

A circular approach to rare earth metals

With rare earth metals becoming increasingly scarce and China tightening its grip on the mining industry, tech manufacturers and consumers need to rethink how they market and consume technology. Companies must refrain from tearing out IT infrastructure unless it is absolutely necessary, while manufacturers must take a much more responsible approach to their production processes. As consumers, we must break the upgrade habit and keep devices for longer, considering repair before replacement. And we mustn't forget that when technology does eventually come to the end of its lifecycle, it must be disposed of both safely and ethically.

Askar Sheibani, CEO of Comtek

For related resources, Design for Disassembly, Eco-Design, Environment and AD Technology guidelines related to this can be downloaded for free at:

http://www.activedisassembly.com/strategy/